


Never Close Our Eyes

by groffiction



Category: Crash Pad (2017), Logan Lucky (2017)
Genre: Alpha Clyde, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Angst, Explicit Sexual Content, Former Alpha Jimmy, Future BDSM, Future Bondage, Future Stripper Clyde, Future knotting, Human squishable Stensland, M/M, Mutual Pining, Not quite crack-fic, Obsessed Stensland, Soft Kylux Adjacent fic, Soft boy Stensland, Southern and Hillbilly type Humor, Vet Tech Clyde, Werewolf Logans, more tags to be added later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-22
Updated: 2019-02-24
Packaged: 2019-05-26 20:09:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15008471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/groffiction/pseuds/groffiction
Summary: “So you are an Alpha what?”“Alpha Werewolf.”“Bullshit. Bull -SHIT.” Stensland blinked up at the man in front of him. “You are serious.”“Serious as a heart attack, honey,” Clyde drawled, reaching down to help the soft and squishy human up.“Then how did your hand - I guess some things don’t heal, do they?” Stensland must be in shock.That must be it. Otherwise he had been for the last few weeks trying to hit on an Alpha Werewolf Bartender, who was also a daytime Animal Clinic owner/technician, AND wasALSOa legit part timeSTRIPPERat Toad Suck Fancy Boots.This was just too much. And yet, after seeing Clyde nod, Stensland couldn’t help but demand, “Tell meMORE.”





	1. Cauliflower!

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Magicandmalice](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Magicandmalice/gifts).



> Been totally inspired by various sources in order to try my hand at Clydeland! I hope you all enjoy (and I really really hope my rendition of Stensy is ok). And my family is from the south and I have cousins that really, really act like people in Logan Lucky, so please excuse my humor because once I get with them, there is no stopping our humor - just sayin'.
> 
> Also, title of the fic comes from the song Never Close Our Eyes by Adam Lambert, of which you can find here: [ Never Close Our Eyes ](https://youtu.be/u3dkVk3F57c)

### Chapter 1: Cauliflower!

“I don’ understand why you want me to do this,” Clyde rumbled softly, not really meaning to complain, he just really, really didn’t want this. No sir, he certainly did NOT want this. At all. The tall, burly long dark haired man that looked like he had just walked out of the latest issue of How-Dee-Alpha-Do-Dee pin up magazine huffed a bit nervously, “I might be more of a thinker than some in our family, but I _ain’t_ Pack Leader material. This is one of your cauliflower plans and I don' like it.”

As if he didn’t already have twenty thousand other things he had to deal with, not just having the Logan family curse heavy on his mind and shoulders, owning Duck Tape bar, and just dealing with life in general with only one hand. If he’d been human, then a bunch of this nonsense would be in fact _nonsense_ and he could go about his business and refer to Jimmy as his older brother and nothing else. But, Jimmy was giving up the Alpha-ship of not just the family but of the pack. 

Clyde somehow felt it was his fault, but deep down he knew it was just the chigger biting ass _curse_. He never was a lucky person, but it made things worse when he had to deal with being a Logan living in West Virginia. 

He still couldn’t understand how in the hell they managed to pull off that speedway robbery with nothing but a few brain cells short of a permanently exhausted pigeon and more brawn than truly necessary. Dumb luck as they call it, but Clyde wasn’t so sure. Maybe they’d managed to please a higher power or perhaps it was in one of those trashy horoscope things about making karma your friend. Clyde really, really didn’t know.

What he did know was that sometimes he wondered where the other shoe was going to up and kick them in the balls or just knock them out cold on the floor like being kicked by a barn _mule_ getting stung by a bee. It just wasn’t natural the way their luck was holding. And even that fancy suited miss from the _EFF-BEE-EYE_ had finally left them alone after Mellie managed to litter the lady’s motel room with sugar so that the fire ants and cockroaches could come running. Last he saw of that woman who had been trying her hardest to sweet talk him, was of her hollering like a lunatic banshee about the Logan family curse rubbing off on her and that she was so done with West Virginia.

Good riddance to bad rubbish as his ol’ ma used to say.

Now though, Clyde was standing in the middle of the forest near the bar looking at his older brother like he’d just come up with the absolute _WORST_ of his cauliflower plans. 

Jimmy looked over his brother with an arched eyebrow before he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned up against an oak tree. Clyde briefly thought that it was a good thing that they being Werewolves meant that they didn’t get sick from poison oak. Otherwise his brother would have started blistering not long into their heart to heart. Clyde might not be the best person to come to with questions about nature but he did know all about some of the hellspawn that grew in West Virginia and the states surrounding her.

Finally Jimmy said with a slightly faster, more arrogant drawl, “Why Clyde, why do you always have to put yourself down like that? I think you would be a perfect Alpha for our little family.”

“ _Little_ family? Ok, I am a bit stunned to think you actually believe that our extended family of nearly two hundred wolves and humans is considered _little_ , but whatever blows your whistle,” Clyde sighed softly, rubbing a hand through his soft damp ebony locks. In truth it was only spring here in West Virginia, but the unseasonably high humidity made everything almost suffocating, even in the middle of the night. “And wouldn’t Mellie be better? She has a firm head on her shoulders and the Logan family curse has yet to dig in it’s sharp claws into her. Though maybe that’s why you are talking to me and not her. She’s too pure, ain’t she?” 

“ _Which_ Mellie are you talking about, Clyde? Our baby sister isn’t as pure as you seem to think. But, yea I guess you’re right about me not talking to her first. Honestly it’s not that I don’t think she’d be a great Alpha, it’s just that she has enough to deal with being Joe Bang’s girlfriend. And we do _not_ need no _Joe Bang_ as a secondary Alpha,” Jimmy reasoned, rubbing his goatee a bit.

Clyde huffed out a long suffering sigh, looking down at his beat up shoes and absently kicked some pebbles near his feet as he thought about this. “I get it, why you wanna go travelin' with your girlfriend and not stick around here except to visit, it’s just I still think it’s stupid of you to pick me as your backup Pack Leader. Besides, what if they find out I’m no good?”

“You aren’t listening to me, Clyde,” Jimmy said fondly, but with exasperation. Whenever Clyde got into one of those “I’m no good” moments, it was hard to dig him out of it. But, Jimmy was going to have to do his best to do so. He tugged his brother into a warm affectionate hug, breathing in his scent and sighing. When Clyde practically melted and relented into returning the hug, Jimmy grinned, knowing he’d won the battle. The older wolf patted his taller brother on the back and said, “You _are_ worth it, Clyde. And you will do fine. I’ll still be around to visit and help with things, but you have watched me lead for long enough to know how it’s done.”

“How it’s done _wrong_ maybe,” Clyde teased lightly before he nodded and pulled away from his brother’s calming scent. “Ok, I guess it’s now or never. You better tell the others before we do our switcheroo.”

“That’s the spirit,” Jimmy snorted and absently slapped his brother on the back before he took Clyde’s cell phone so he could call a family meeting.

Or a community meeting.

Clyde hadn’t been kidding about just how big their family it was. Apparently though the Logan family curse tended to kill off a bunch of people in their brood, they still bred like rabbits, spreading more misfortune and bad luck in their carnal investments. Clyde wouldn’t be surprised if half the population of the deep south and mid eastern continental United States of America had at least a quarter Logan in them. Maybe that’s why those odd commercials kept coming on about Jesus and why inbreeding wasn’t tolerated in the house of the Lord.

He didn’t really know about Jesus or his _house_ , but he sure as hell understood that inbreeding like the Logans did wasn’t _natural_.

Perhaps that’s why mother nature or karma was ensuring that at least a bit of that population was getting weeded out.

Clyde rubbed his goatee and wondered if he’d have to get more fashion sense from Mellie if he was now going to be promoted to such an important community position. Scowling, he figured to hell with that. He was his own person and he wasn’t going to get fancy just because he was now going to be an Alpha. 

\---------------------------------------

One of the things Clyde liked doing in his spare time was helping out at animal shelters. He always was sort of soft hearted towards animals, and serving for the military in two tours wasn’t ever going to change that. So, once the all clear had been sounded and that FBI woman had been driven out of Logan territory, Clyde had figured it would be a good thing for the community to open up a daytime animal clinic. He had always been good with animals, and though math and science weren’t really his thing, he made sure to study hard to get his license.

It had been six months since he’d opened up the small clinic in the back side of his bar and though business hadn’t really been steady at first, Clyde wasn’t going to be deterred. He ran the place with Mellie’s help whenever she wasn’t at the salon. And Sylvia had been helping with a bunch of the paper filing too, though now she was heading out with Jimmy to go around ‘America in that traveling medical van they had. Clyde was happy for them, though he supposed he would miss his brother now and then.

That left them in a pickle though. So, not only was he going to be a new Alpha of a rather large pack and have to still operate as bartender and run Duck Tape, AND work part time at a strip club on the weekends, but he was also going to be short staffed at his clinic. He guessed he was just going to have to hire someone. At least he was book smart enough for that. He might run his bar but he did have a few college kids working for him during the summer so he guessed it would be ok to hire on a part time receptionist at least.

Volunteers didn’t come hardly around here that weren’t apart of the family.

The next time they had a pack meeting Clyde figured he would bring it up just in case one of the in laws or outlaws needed money, were mostly honest, and had enough sense in their head to make more than a few dollars. Clyde huffed out a sigh as he reluctantly handed Purple’s miniature poodle back to her, pretty rhinestone purple collar glinting underneath the fluorescent lights, his black scrubs almost covered in white dog hair. 

“Now, remember what I said, ma’am, Violet doesn’t _need_ no extra table scraps you’ve been giving her. She’s at a healthy weight and we don’t want to push it to make her unhealthy,” Clyde instructed, though half heartedly, knowing full well Purple wasn’t listening.

The elderly lady was as typical as a teenage boy spotting his crush at a school dance. Purple had a one track mind for anything purple. “You sure you don’ want to order some of that there royal purple scrubs them doctors wear at the local hospital? They would go really well with your complection.”

“That may be, ma’am, but I assure you black is alright with me. Mellie says it goes well with my hair so I trust her fashion sense - considering she’s won the county’s Best Foofoo Hair Styling Award for three years in a row. You have a good day now,” Thank heavens the woman was only human and not in their pack. Soft hearted as he was, he probably would have snapped by now if he had to listen to her badgering at new moon community meetings. 

A few minutes later, Clyde was finishing up checking on one of the doggies that got fixed over the weekend when he heard the bell to the door chime. “I’ll be out in a minute,” He hollered out from the back. He hated the sound of his voice when he hollered. Made him almost feel like he sounded like a pissed off bull in a china shop, but no one seemed to mind.

He still kept his voice soft most times unless he couldn’t help having to yell.

This was one of those times. “Now Chester, I know you aren’t too thrilled about being in a cage but your pa's gonna pick you up in an hour or so. So, just sit tight ok? You are such a good boy.”

The dog calmed considerably, noting that though Clyde was a newly minted Alpha Werewolf, the big man was calm and kind. The black Labrador wagged his tail slightly before he pushed his nose into Clyde’s big hands and snuffled. Clyde pet the dog on the head a few times soothingly before he closed up the cage and headed out to the front reception area.

He was almost blinded by ginger red hair glinting in the sunlight coming through the clinic’s big paned windows and he blinked a few times before he noted what the customer was doing and what he was wearing. Shorts that were shorter than normal, puffed up sleeveless green vest that didn’t work to well with the blue shorts and a bright pink long sleeved shirt really hurt his eyes. Then there were skinny lightly furred pale legs tapering down to slim ankles and white holey socks and sandals. Clyde arched a brow.

_Well._

He guessed that the man didn’t have the worst sense of style on a person he’d ever seen but still. That was a bit of an adorable eyesore. Raking his gaze up he noted that the man was scrawny, though he stood tall - almost as tall as him, and had long slender arms and that hair was like a mop. Clyde didn’t know what he wanted more - either to comb those locks into order or tell the man to come back once he’d seen what he looked like in the mirror.

The man looked almost like he’d not grown out of his awkward teenage years. Not that Clyde should judge. He was still wearing his pink laced sneakers that had Hello Kitty on the sides. The fact that Mellie had gotten them things for him for his birthday when she’d been ten years old made no difference. They were still good shoes and he wore them with pride.

“Anything I can do for you, sir?” Always one to be polite, Clyde kept his voice soft, but still the man flailed about in a frantic startle.

Stensland felt his heart nearly beat out of his chest and he had to force himself to calm down before he let out an embarrassed squeak as he finally took note of the drop dead gorgeous man right behind him. He reflexively squeezed the small toad in his hands a bit too harshly and it croaked in displeasure.

“Sorry Jasper, I swear I didn’t mean it,” Stensland soothed the toad before he turned his attention back to the man. Raking his eyes over the man’s tall frame, not even blinking at the mechanical prosthetic on his left forearm, the ginger felt like he’d just walked into a dream. Seriously, where had this beautiful man been all his life?

Blinking a few times and catching the dark gaze - oh what pretty brown eyes - of Clyde was it? - Stensland finally answered him, “I-sorry, you just startled me and I have a bit of a spastic heart.”

“I can see that,” Clyde said, feeling a bit amused and almost sorry for the ginger haired male. The man’s face was attractive, if half covered by that mop of soft and fluffy looking hair. He could barely make out greenish eyes blinking shyly back at him. Taking in a deep breath, Clyde took in the human male’s scent, noting that though the man needed a shower he actually smelled pretty darn good. Feeling a bit ashamed, but no less intrigued, Clyde added, “I apologize for startling you a bit. My sister Mellie says I often need a cow bell to announce my arrivals.”

The man nodded slightly and stated with a small smile, “My name is Stensland. I’d shake your hand but both of mine are kind of full.”

“Can see that, too,” Clyde replied with a small impish smirk. He then remembered what the man had said first. He added in a rush, “My name is Clyde Logan.”

When the ginger only stared at him, Clyde slowly blinked uncomfortably and coughed. He motioned to the toad still clutched in the man’s hands, “Whatcha got there?”

Stensland blushed scarlet and coughed before he stated with a brilliant, if uneasy smile, “Oh this is Jasper the toad. I found him in the ditch nearby my new apartment. He seems to be limping and you guys were the closest around. He kind of looks like a Jasper but I almost called him Naveen after the prince from Disney’s 'Princess and the Frog' but he’s not a frog, he’s a toad, so Jasper works better I guess.”

Fuck, he was rambling. If Stensland wasn’t otherwise occupied with holding the toad in his hands, he would have clapped them over his mouth to stop him from putting a foot in it. 

That accent sounded Irish, if Clyde had to guess. It perked even more of his interest even though his inner voice was telling him to back away and ‘ta not get involved’. This boy was trouble, in every sense of the word. Clyde could smell it, not just see it. Whoever this stranger was - no matter how adorable, cute, or pretty, Clyde knew that it would be bad if he got too attached. Pretty sweet boys from out of town only broke Clyde’s heart and honestly he didn’t think he could take all that mess with all of the chaos his life was throwing at him lately.

Clyde mentally shook his head and tried to act professional instead of awkward and shmoozy. “Well I don’t know about Disney except for them new Star Wars movies but I do know a thing or two about toads. Come on back and we’ll get him or her fixed up in no time.”

“Oh Jasper is definitely a boy. And you love Star Wars? That is absolutely - um, well, please excuse my rambling mind. Yes, Jasper....I love animals of all sorts and would have been into veterinary sciences if I could keep my attention from running around like a spastic hungry gnat,” Stensland pointed out with a shaky smile, awkwardly following the tall man back to a small private room with a few chairs and a tall table that had some medical supplies tucked away in a corner.

He watched in fascinated horror as Clyde tugged on some warm looking Pikachu mittens on. “You like Pokemon?” He asked, very curious.

Clyde arched a brow and shrugged, “A bit, yea. Not so crazy about it but my older brother Jimmy’s daughter Sadie loves 'em big time. She got me these mittens because as she says, every person needs to have a pet in their hands, real or no.”

Stensland felt his brain needlessly go into the gutter and wallow and he forced himself to come back to the surface, nodding slowly with a big smile. “Smart girl.”

After Clyde gave him a small shy smile, Stensland flushed scarlet.

Damn, he was so doomed.

And Stensland had been relatively good in the past two months since he’d moved to the area to live near his half brothers. He’d been lonely after the fiasco with Morgan and Grady and after he did that Geneology thing - not being able to help his curiosity at his roots, he found out he had not one but three half brothers. Apparently his biological father that left for America when Stensland had only been two years old had decided to sow more of his seeds in West Virginia. So, Stensland had decided to move to West Virginia to meet up with the only living relatives he had left. Fish, Sam, and Joe were definitely not what he’d expected - and that was putting it _mildly_.

His boss at Soft Solutions had been so heartbroken about Stensland leaving that he’d offered to have the man work his part time job at home selling things on the web. It was a growing business and Stensland was really good at it. So at least he didn’t need work for another few months depending on sales.

Still, as he looked over the Vet tech in front of him with a big name-tag saying “Clyde” on it as the man took Jasper from his hands, he almost wondered if he should have pursued his Veterinary studies.


	2. Chaos in the Best Way

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMG -squees a bunch and sobs dramatically- Thank you all so much for commenting and giving me your lovely kudos! I am amazed at how great a response to my little fic is. ;_; y'all are too kind and sweet to me. But I love it. Here is the next chapter. Hope you all enjoy it :) I couldn't help posting more once I saw how many people seem to like the story so far! I hope to write more tomorrow but we will see. Thank you again!

### Chapter Two: Chaos in the Best Way

Stensland huffed out a small depressed sigh as he left the animal clinic called _‘Pet Me One’_ , his sandals making soft impressions in the dirt as he headed down the road, putting his hands in the pockets of his puffy blue vest. Regardless of the stray animals he managed to find while he was out randomly walking or just aimlessly looking for inspiration, he always ended up having to let them all go. There had been a time when he’d had a cat, and even a dog, but with his current economic status and the fact that he’d just spent the last of his savings on moving to West Virginia, it was going to be a while before he could care for a pet - much less have one to own.

He’d been sad to leave Jasper at the clinic, but it was for the best. Clyde had assured him several times that he’d take the toad to a proper husbandry or specialty wildlife caretaker until the little guy was healed and able to return back to the wild. Bless him. 

Stensland’s mood brightened for a bit as he felt some paper in the left pocket of his vest. He thought about the tall, burly but absolutely delicious looking Vet technician that had given him a small handwritten business card. Out of all of the strange and oddball people he had managed to encounter in West Virginia, Clyde seemed to be the sanest one - or at least the sweetest one. The man looked strong enough to bench press a dinosaur with his one remaining hand but he was definitely what his mother used to call a gentle giant. And god, when the man _smiled_. 

When he smiled, it was like all the stars in the sky shined brightly just on him. 

Stensland knew he was going to have to be careful. Clyde may be sweet and adorable in the best way, but the ginger was still wary. After that whole mess with Morgan and Grady, he had sworn off any sort of romantic interests until he spotted the _‘one’_. Screw what Grady said. True, he was a _LITTLE_ bit thankful that the man had gotten him to learn a few things during those few weeks of brutal hell while being roommates with him. Regardless, the mop haired ginger definitely didn’t think he would have lasted much longer before either keeling over dead or becoming a vicious rabid animal and ended up murdering Grady. 

So, when he’d found out about his three newly discovered brothers, he had decided to go ahead and take in a change of scenery - for his life’s sake if not for his fragile emotional state. He had way more self confidence now than he’d had a few months back, but he still was squishable. 

Breakable. _Crushable_.

And though Stensland wasn’t as naive as he used to be - thinking that his picture perfect girl or boy would magically appear and fall into his lap, he still wasn’t going to go to bars and hook up with what Grady had fondly labeled as 'strangecards'. The bar behind the clinic had looked interesting, being named _‘Duck Tape’_ , but Stensland wasn’t really in the mood to go to a bar, and plus the place wasn’t due to open for another few hours.

Looking at his watch absently, his eyebrows shot up. Jesus, he had stayed in the clinic talking with that handsome Vet tech for over two hours. The paper in his pocket felt like it was burning a hole there, begging to be taking out and looked at, so Stensland obliged and took it out carefully, not wanting to accidentally drop it. 

It was simple really, just said _‘Clyde Logan, Certified Veterinary Technician of ‘Pet Me One’ and owner/bartender of ‘Duck Tape’’_ , and then there was his numbers that he could be reached at underneath the gentle writing. The fact that Clyde was also the owner and bartender of the bar connected to the clinic made Stensland second guess his decision to not turn around and go for the bar afterall. 

He smiled a bit smugly, despite his inner conscious telling him to be wary of random hot strangers. At least Clyde hadn’t kicked him out of the clinic after Jasper was done being cared for. Since Jasper must have taken only a half an hour to patch up, the two men had lingered and talked for at least another hour - perhaps more. Feeling a bit proud about that, and even a bit flushed that Clyde had been willing to give him his card, Stensland let his mind wander for a bit as he made his way back to his new apartment not far from the clinic and bar.

He rubbed the card thoughtfully, smug smile softening into one more at ease and less proud. Arching a brow a bit when he felt a bit of ridges on the other side of the card, Stensland stopped in his tracks and looked back down at the card, turning it over curiously.

 _‘Leather or Cotton Alpha Daddy at ‘Toad Suck Fancy Boots’ - if you need a pick me up or a good show come on down’,_ the card read along with a different set of numbers.

 _Leather or Cotton Alpha **DADDY?**_ Stensland’s brain nearly fractured into a million pieces. Was this man a stripper too? Or a prostitute? Was that even legal in these parts? Stensland rubbed his face with a hand, blinking a few times at the pretty black ink handwriting on the card. This handwriting was different from the scrawl on the front. Perhaps someone else wrote on the other side of the card? But why would anyone do that unless that person was being utterly cruel to Clyde and playing a prank on him.

Or, Clyde could very well be a stripper. Times were hard and owning not one but two small businesses must be difficult even if the poor man had use of two hands. Stensland turned to look back in the direction of the bar and clinic, feeling indecisions run over him in a massive way. 

“Stensy, you are way too curious for your own good. Now, stop this nonsense before you get your heart broken again,” Stensland muttered to himself as he stuck the card back into his vest pocket, resolving weakly not to look at it again at least until he got home. Then he could hook up his computer and wrestle with the bad wifi in the area and look up _'Toad Suck Fancy Boots'_. 

He also resolved not to think about Clyde in any form of leather, cotton, naked, sliding on poles, stripping, or anything else as he started walking again, determination in his steps. 

And if his mind wandered straight back fifty times over to Clyde like the man had a huge bullseye hanging over his nice thick shoulders, then Stensland couldn’t bring himself to care. At least he was firm in his footsteps until he got to his own front door. That counted for something, right?

\------------------------------------------------------

“Mellie, he’s not a problem in this. I won’t let him become an issue, ok?” Clyde protested with a soft rumble, pouring his sister a martini so dirty even an already drunk as a skunk hobo would pass up on it. He never could understand how his baby sister had such a cast iron liver. If he drunk that stuff all the time like she insisted on doing when she did drink, he’d already been dead and gone six feet under - or at least pickled to the point of being as comatose as a bear in hibernation. 

The bar was mostly empty tonight, it only being a Monday. And though he could perhaps afford to have the bar closed on Mondays and at least Tuesdays, Clyde was all about having a _schedule_. He figured that his life was already wallowing in chaos and doomed de- _struction_ , no matter what was thrown his way, so why not make himself feel a bit better by having some sort of structure in his life? Plus it helped comfort him in the fact that his pea pickin’ heart and overly tired mind could at least depend on something constant. 

So the bar stayed open seven days a week from six p.m. until the roosters woke up at three thirty in the morning unless it was during some of the holidays and full moon nights. Most folk around here didn’t care too much to make the connection of why full moon nights were necessary to have the bar closed, but Clyde was nothing if not a bit paranoid, with his family curse and all. And it didn’t help that there were some rumors going around that Werewolf hunters were again on the move, so in the near future he might just have to work some of them full moon nights to stem off the suspicion. 

Otherwise he just spread as much of his superstitious fear of full moon nights and the community that were non-wolf inclined took it like it was. Everyone in these parts knew very well just how much Clyde believed his family was cursed, so they let it slide. Maybe that wasn’t his intention originally but by the time he took over the bar and started making a livin’ for himself, everyone who knew everyone - which meant everyone in at least a twenty mile radius of Duck Tape, understood that Clyde was eccentric and that was ok.

Nice thing about being around here - perhaps one of the only nice things in Clyde’s mind, was that the folks that knew him personally didn’t look down on him or bat an eyelash at his voodoo wariness. The curse never scared Clyde but it definitely did make him hyper aware of his surroundings. As if being a Beta Werewolf before this whole cauliflower Alpha promotion wasn’t enough to make him second guess himself or any stranger walkin’ around.

Clyde let his mechanical forearm and hand rest for a bit as he leveled his baby sister with a slight somber expression - the one that often made him look soft as a brown eyed puppy who had just learned his bowl of food was empty. “Mellie, I _ain’t_ that stupid. He smells like trouble, but I know what I am doing. He’s not going to be a part of anything.”

“But, I am not sayin’ that he wouldn’t turn out as _good_ for you, or the community, I just don’t want you to get hurt,” Mellie scowled and wrinkled her nose, not impressed by Clyde’s attempts at being pouty and defenseless. “All I am sayin’ is for you to just be _careful_. You are your own person, but though I seriously doubt he’d turn out as a hunter, it’s just best to play it safe, you know?”

“Yea, I know. Joe say anything more about him besides him being a bit flighty and being too purty to be a Bang?” When the news finally broke to Clyde that the red haired stranger with his random toad he’d met a few days past was none other than an Irish half brother of the Bang siblings, he hadn’t known what to think.

Joe Bang was a good Beta boyfriend so far with Mellie but that didn’t mean that Clyde or the rest of his family trusted him. As for Fish and Sam, that was another story entirely. Those two were the best example of ‘no sense’ and hillbilly inbreeding that Clyde knew. The tall, dark haired Alpha didn’t know whether to feel incredibly sorry for the poor unassuming human basket case of chaos or be very, very wary of the fact that there was _ANOTHER_ Bang brother around. Granted, it seemed as though Stensland was in fact only a human half brother. After talking to him at the clinic for an hour while fixing up that poor toad’s leg and afterwards then some, Clyde figured that the boy still spelled trouble with a capital _T_ but he at least had a firm if spastic head on his shoulders and was incredibly sweet.

And he guessed he looked a little like Sam Bang with the ginger hair and facial structure but that was about as far as it went. Still, Mellie was right. Until they found out more about this new more learned human man, it was best to keep him at a distance, no matter how much he seemed to tug on Clyde’s protective instincts like a whirlwind. And though he wasn’t big on Disney, he did know his _‘toons._ Whirlwinds often revealed Taz, and despite Clyde knowing for a fact that Stensland wasn’t no Tasmanian Devil, he still could turn out to be a demon wearing holey socks and sandals.

“Not much else, I’m afraid,” Mellie allowed, taking up her drink carefully with her long fingernails clinking on the glass lip lightly. She sipped her drink and shrugged, “Fish and Sam say he has too much smarts for the likes of them, which isn’t sayin’ much. Anyone with two brain cells put together has more sense than they do.”

This was true. Clyde grunted softly in understanding. Still he couldn’t help himself as he pressed a bit more, “Yea I could tell he’s smart, possibly even smarter than Joe Bang, but I don’t know for sure. What about the others in the community that have encountered him down at the country store?”

“Well, if you count ‘ol Marcy Mae Phillips and her knack for spreading gossip like the _plague_ then I guess you could say that Stensland is a very well mannered individual and loves his soaps,” Mellie offered Clyde a small sympathetic smile, knowing her brother’s expressions like the back of her well manicured hand. That was part of the problem with her brother. He couldn’t put on a poker face even if his life depended on it. No sir, her brother already looked like the sweet ginger new boy in town hung the moon, the stars, and even the sun. She hadn’t met the man yet, so she only could go by gossip for now. And gossip meant that five percent of it actually was true and the rest was entertaining but hogwash. 

“He’s a soaps type of person?” Clyde asked, feeling his heart clench slightly and reflexively tightened his mechanical hand in response. 

“Yea, he was going off on continued stories like that there old Dawson’s Creek saga from years back, along with some old flicks like Twilight Zone, Outer Limits, Murder She Wrote, Perry Mason, Miami Vice - the eighties version, and even Full House. But he seemed to be really sold on the romance sit-coms - the cheesiest the better I suppose,” Mellie explained, arching a brow when she heard a slight non human rumble coming from her brother that almost sounded like a cross between a wrecked whine and a growl of resignation.

Yep, her brother had already _fallen_.

 _Well._ This was going to be interesting, for _sure_. She just hoped that this new Stensland didn’t turn out to be a hunter or worse like that FBI harpy that had tried to mess with Clyde not seven or eight months past. If she had to, she would step in and defend her brother’s honor in Jimmy’s absence. She had no qualms knocking someone’s plow into the next century. She’d done it before, and she would gladly do it again.

New Alpha or no, Clyde was still her sweet and soft brother and ain’t nobody going to hurt him on her watch. Not nobody.

Looking around to make sure no one was watching or at least being immersed in their own conversations, Mellie up and hopped over the bar hop and straightened so she could tug her short dress down a bit. Then she up and hugged her brother when he looked a bit lost and totally scared out of his wits. She couldn’t take it when Clyde was vulnerable like this. 

Neither could Jimmy, though Jimmy at least knew how to get Clyde to calm down with just a firm talking to or a pat on the shoulder. But, Mellie wasn’t Jimmy, though she did know how to make Clyde feel better - even if it was a bit more compassionate an act than the former Alpha’s normal tactic. Clyde wrapped his arms around Mellie’s shoulders and let her hug him for a bit as he leaned down to breathe in her comforting scent. Some days he was more fragile than others. It all depended on his PTSD and just how much chaos was running around ramped in his life. Tonight it seemed like it was more potent than most. 

Clyde felt his nose tickle at the slight teasing of Mellie’s soft and lightly sprayed hair and he pulled away. “I’ll be ok, Mellie. I may not be the best when it comes to falling off the deep end but I know how to pick myself up after the fact.”

“That’s just it, Clyde, you shouldn’t _have_ to,” Mellie huffed slightly and the fiery act caused Clyde to smile in amusement and fondness.

He sobered and nodded, “I’ll be ok. You don’ have to go after him with a pitch fork.”

“Oh _honey_ , I wouldn’t use a pitch fork. I’d use a shovel or at least one of Joe’s _explosives_ ,” Mellie smiled, feeling a bit better that Clyde’s calf eyes looked less vulnerable and more sure of himself. 

Clyde rolled his eyes so hard he feared they’d get stuck in the back of his head. “Mellie, he’s gonna be _ok._ I’m gonna be ok. Though I appreciate you being all protector Wonder Woman, and all that, and I even respect it. It means you care about me, and I like that. Stensland won’t be an issue though. I only gave him my business card for professional reasons just in case he finds another random injured animal nearby. That’s all.”

Mellie snorted out a laugh, suddenly finding this situation a bit too funny. “You legit gave him your _business card_?”

“Why yes, I certainly did. Why, ain’t that supposed to be the professional thing to do when someone comes in and appreciates your service or at least seems to want to come more regularly to your business?” Clyde asked, arching a brow, suddenly getting that he was missing something here. Something important. And he wasn’t sure he would like whatever it was that Mellie seemed to find as funny. “I figured it would be a good thing to do - spreading the word of my business an’ all.”

Mellie giggled at that and would have face palmed if not for the fact that she had impeccable makeup on her face tonight. So she just settled for reaching up and ruffling her brother’s soft silky wavy hair and murmured, “You did fine, Clyde.” _Just **fine**_. 

She just hoped Clyde wouldn’t be shocked out of his underpants when he found out that she’d put his stripper information on the backside of all of his pretty white business cards. Heck, the only reason why she’d done that was to shock some of the old ladies that tended to come into the clinic with their poodles and expensive diamond collar wearing rat dogs. But, she guessed that this was ok too. If Stensland was that type of guy to like stripper bars, then perhaps he wasn’t going to be so bad to have around.

\------------------------------------------

Stensland looked at the blinking website on his computer and his eyes got wider, and more comical with each picture shown on the thick screen. Now, Stensland obviously wasn’t a virgin, nor did he have a small spank bank when it came to watching porn. However, his so called medium sized spank bank was going to get much bigger with all of the pictures and clips he was seeing of the stripper known simply as _‘Leather Daddy’_. _‘Cotton Daddy’_ was still pretty hot, considering it was still Clyde scantily dressed up like a football player stripping down, but _‘ **LEATHER** Daddy’_ was something else entirely. _‘Leather Daddy’_ was all domination, powerful-ness, and the man even had a small sex toy whip in his lone hand while he strutted around in a shiny leather bodysuit with strategic slits that bared some naughty skin. The high heeled boots were monstrous in size and Stensland actually whimpered when he watched them click down the stage in a massive strut.

Oh _yes_ , Stensland was in trouble now. 

He swallowed dryly as he felt his cock start leaking at the tip in his shorts. Shit, he was so going to have to try and tap _that_ man. All of his earlier reservations of finding the 'one' had flown out the door as soon as his eyes landed on Clyde's stripper profile. Clyde seemed to be interested in him, or at least being nice enough to give him his business card. So that spelled interest, right? And though Stensland was such a horrible person when it came to pick up lines or flirting of any sort, the ginger still couldn’t back down now. Especially since he so wanted - _needed_ this. He didn’t know if his heart was going to take failure again but Stensland couldn’t help himself.

Now how was he going to do this? He was horrible at making plans, but he still knew he needed them in order to make this work. With another lingering sigh as he watched Clyde strut around and pat his hip with that whip, Stensland got up and headed for his bathroom. First, he needed to take care of a good wank in the shower. Second, he would need to dry off and get dressed. Third, or maybe that counted as fourth? - he was going to write down a plan.

A plan to seduce one Clyde Logan.


	3. Too Soft

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew, ok, here is another chapter for everyone. Hope you like it! And thank you so much for your lovely comments and kudos. They are always appreciated and help me write more, so thank you thank you! :)

### Chapter 3: Too Soft

“What is wrong with you people?!” Sensland found himself saying in exasperation. He was currently trying to shoo some of the people surrounding him out of the way as he noticed one was with a shovel. “Give the poor tyke some space! How dare you try to kill a creature that is still in their prime! He’s in his July, not his December!”

“Ye reckon he’s one of them veggie-TARE-eeUNs?” Fish asked Sam with an arched brow.

“Naw, he ate some of our mutton stew yesterday,” Sam said reaching up to rub his nose in concentration. 

“Then what’s his deal?” Fish asked, puzzled, looking over at Joe, who was standing with them away from the milling crowd that had gathered near the front of the Duck Tape bar. “Are you sure he’s a Bang? He don’t act like none. Too soft.” Fish turned and spit a sunflower seed husk to the side of him.

Joe grunted, his arms crossed over his chest as he looked over Stensland’s skinny flapping arms and hands with embarrassed sympathy. This newcomer that was supposed to be kin to them definitely either had his marbles scrambled or needed a one on one with Tiny, the local heavyweight county studmuffin champion for the WWF smackdown shows. Scrunching his nose up, he shrugged, “I jest don’ know. He does look a bit like us but that don’ mean a thing really in the scheme of things. Maybe he’s what we’d look like as humans.”

“Ain’tcha goin’ ta help him out? He’s your brother,” Earl said, coming to stand next to them.

“Nah, he seems to be handling things well hisself,” Sam said, watching as Stensland finally broke through the small crowd holding an honest to god injured possum. 

The crowd rumbled irritably, but broke up quickly after that, rolling their eyes and muttering about some stupid newcomer being too soft hearted and depriving them of their evening supper. “Yea, well he’s gonna have to have a talkin’ to. Folks around here aren’t sympathetic-sists like us. He could get hisself done killed,” Fish stated matter of factly.

All four watched as Stensland wandered to the back of the bar and Joe sighed, throwing his cigarette down and grounding it out with his foot. “Let him be. He’s got the protection of the pack. He doesn’t need more or less than that.”

“Why the pack doing that for him again?” Fish asked, confused.

“Because he’s related to us, Fish. Get your head straightened on,” Joe rolled his eyes and headed to his motorbike, it being almost four in the morning. He wasn’t sure why his ginger half brother was running around the bar this early in the morning, considering he seemed the type not to like bars or clubs. 

Arching a brow, something clicked in his mind and he slowly smiled, “I’ll be damned.” He changed direction, absently fiddling with his keys and moved around to the small clinic set up behind the bar. 

Sure enough, he was right. Stensland was sitting on the steps of the clinic, rubbing the possum’s head with a towel, careful not to touch the creature’s skin. Though he knew he shouldn’t really watch this, he couldn’t help having the curiosity of a cat spotting an injured bird nearby. In truth it was none of his business what Stensland did with his free time.

But, before he could make himself leave from the thick shadows of the bar, something happened.

Clyde came outside of the bar near the back entrance and locked up, not really taking note of Stensland until the spastic human was up and standing right next to him. Clyde nearly jumped two feet in the air when Stensland asked softly, “Hey, not to catch you right at close - I know you must be exhausted, but this little guy needs help. And I don’t know where else to take him to.”

Clyde then noticed the possum in Stensland’s arms and sighed softly, feeling a bemused and exasperated smile cross over his tired features. “You do know that some creatures have diseases right?”

Stensland stuck his nose up at Clyde, stating primly, “I’ll have you know that most don’t. Besides, I haven’t touched him, just the towel.”

“Yea, I get that. Not meaning you was stupid or anything like that, because you obviously aren’t, but I had to say it regardless. You best be careful handling them wild animals,” Clyde nodded to the other door nearby where the clinic entrance was. “You take him on over there and I’ll be there shortly to open the door for you. I gotta go around front for a minute and will be back in a jiffy.”

Stensland breathed a small thank you and then wandered over to the clinic entrance. Clyde got down the small porch and headed over to where he sensed Joe was chillin’. That beta had more mind for gossip than some of the worst flapping jaw ladies at county night bingos. With a soft, resigned huff, Clyde went into the shadows and leaned up against the railing near the front porch of the bar.

Joe took the message for what it was and headed over to join him. “Couldn’t help being curious and all that. Plus I wanted to be sure he didn’t hurt hisself with that possum. Them things can be dangerous.”

Clyde side eyed Joe very carefully, letting the Beta know exactly how he felt about that fibbing story. He wasn’t in no mood to deal with Joe being all uppity with his ‘better than you I know science’ attitude with his fancy tall tales. All Clyde wanted to do was take a nap and forget the world existed for five million years.

Too bad the world didn’t work that way. Otherwise he’d probably wake up when the Martians finally decided to invade and take over the world. 

“Fair point,” Joe stated calmly, before he huffed and patted his Alpha on the shoulder gently, “I see you have everything under control, Alpha. Don’t let him stay too long. You need your rest.”

 _And you need to simmer down and stop being a wise ass dick_ , Clyde thought though he only grunted as he watched the Beta leave on his pretty motorbike.

Once he was sure that the Beta was at least five miles away from his bar and clinic, Clyde straightened tiredly and headed to meet up with his ginger haired problem. Though he still didn’t think that the soft human man was a problem that he couldn’t handle. Very carefully. With limited contact.

Who was he bullshitting if not himself?

Clyde had it bad. And he knew this. Just like he knew that he was setting himself up to being run over by a semi truck. But, as his eyes caught onto the cute ball of chaos currently holding a surprisingly calm possum, all his resistance and common sense ran away screaming like Mellie had when she accidently upsetted a hornet’s nest. 

Stensland watched Clyde come up the small set of stairs to the clinic’s entrance and he nearly stumbled in trying to get out of the broader man’s way. “Thank you,” Stensland said again, looking over Clyde’s frame with interest.

Tonight the man was wearing a red flannel long sleeved shirt that had the sleeves rolled up past his elbow on one arm and past the mechanics of his other metal forearm. Black jeans and beat up sneakers adorned his lower half and Stensland licked his lips when he smelled the faint scent of Old Spice aftershave and fainter, the scent of liquor. Combined with the smell of stale sweat should not be a turn on but it was. 

Clyde opened the door to the clinic and nodded for Stensland to head right on in, feeling his eyes drop to look at the smaller man’s tight ass through those damned green shorty shorts. Feeling a low wine start up deep in his gut, Clyde barely stifled it before it escaped through his mouth. Taking in a deep breath and instantly wishing he hadn’t, the wolf took in Stensland’s musky scent of human mixed with hormones, strawberry body wash and some kind of deodorant he wasn’t familiar with. How could all that in one package smell so good?

Once Stensland moved further into the clinic, Clyde forced his attention away from the ginger’s tight and begging to be touched ass so he could flip the switch on for the lights. Though the clinic wasn’t open for another five and a half hours or so, he figured that he’d go ahead and do this for Stensland.

Plus, it’s not like Stensland could help that he was soft hearted and managed to find injured animals around these parts. He wasn’t sure he wanted to ask why Stensland was even around the bar right after closing. Wasn’t that the time people usually wanted to leave? Unless he was there for one of his random early morning strolls.

Or there might be something else going on here.

Clyde wasn’t sure. What he was sure of was that Stensland definitely had a way with animals. Before he could stop himself, Clyde asked, “You looking for work or anything like that?”

Stensland nearly dropped the possum he had decided on naming Little Foot after the Land Before Time - since the little tyke had the tiniest feet but the sharpest looking claws. He turned to look at Clyde in shock. “What?”

Shit, he was in for it now, wasn’t he? Clyde forced himself to close the door behind him and move around to turn on the light further inside where a medical room was. He was silent as Stensland followed him numbly into the room, though once the possum got settled on a warm heating pad, Clyde admitted, “I could use the help around here at the clinic. My brother’s girlfriend Sylvia used to work here sometimes during the day and dealt with a bunch of papers and the like.”

When Stensland was about to say something, Clyde pushed on, basically throwing both feet into the pile of snakes before he lost his nerve, “I mean, if you ain’t good with numbers, that’s ok. I could still need someone to look after the animals while I help customers. Mellie does what she can but she works at a salon so…..” Feeling himself drift off, Clyde looked up to see Stensland smiling.

It was like a lightning struck him through the chest, how that look hit him right there where it hurt. Clyde almost wondered if Stensland knew what exactly he was doing to him. Then again, the ginger soft boy probably didn’t have a clue. Stifling down another whine, Clyde concentrated on checking the possum over. He was mostly wild, though it looked like he might be illegally owned by someone. Carefully running a gloved hand over the now trembling creature’s back he found a small chip. 

“Well I’ll be damned,” Clyde murmured, reaching over to grab a small chip reader. “Looks like your feller here is a domesticated licensed pet - normally that’s illegal but maybe he’s from a wildlife shelter nearby. Someone must have stole him or he got loose.”

Stensland was still getting over being offered a job by Clyde of all people. The ginger had to remind himself to breathe and concentrate on the possum he had saved inevitably saved from death. He couldn’t keep the wide grin off of his face for long though. This greatly helped his plans in seducing Clyde. But, wait a second…. Clyde OFFERED him a JOB?

“You….you aren’t serious are you?” 

“About the possum? Yea, this happens every once in a while. They can move pretty fast…. Looks like he doesn’t have no broken bones, so that’s good. Might have a bruised tail and hip.”

“No, I mean… yes, that’s wonderful about Little Foot - not that he’s bruised but that he’s less injured than expected. But about the job? You honestly want me to work for you?” Stensland stumbled over his words and felt like putting his foot into his mouth. Still, he stared at Clyde in shock and breathless hope.

Clyde looked up from the possum, the scanner in his hand hovering over the poor creature’s skin. The look that came at him now was so sweet and earnest. Stensland looked like a cat starin’ at cream for the first time. Flushing a bit awkwardly, the Alpha nodded with a small shy smile, “Yea, that’s normally what a person does if they work at my clinic.”

“That’s….that’s amazing, actually. I, I mean I have a part time situation online but it doesn’t pay much, so something else extra would be greatly appreciated,” Stensland beamed, reaching down to rub the possum’s head lightly with the edge of a towel.

Clyde full out grinned, causing the ginger to flush scarlet. Jesus, did the man have to be so flipping gorgeous? And oblivious? Clyde said softly, “Well, that’s good news to me. Jimmy always said I worked myself to the bone. This will help tremendously, so thank you. I can draw you up some papers and legal stuff and give it to you later, if that’s ok?”

“Yea, that’s great. I can stop by in a few days if that would be ok with you?”

“Certainly. I’ll be here.” Like he always was.

\--------------------------------------------------------

It wasn’t until Stensland was already home that it really hit home that he was soon going to be working with the same man that he wanted to seduce. Not just that, but Clyde was also one Leather or Cotton Daddy from a strip club that Stensland still had to work himself up to going to. Stensland flushed hotly and went straight for his fridge, grabbing a beer and quickly taking a few swigs.

Empty stomach or no, Stensy was freaking out just a little too much.

After he flopped himself down on his bed, Stensland’s attempt to get himself to stop imagining Clyde dressed in leather pole dancing failed epically. With a small moan, Stensland rubbed his aching head and wondered how in the hell did his life always have to be complicated?

Resigning himself to having a few hours nap, Stensland figured he could get his plan into action later when his mind wasn’t spinning. 

His body couldn’t help imagining just how thick Clyde’s fingers were, and what it would feel like to have them caressing his skin. It was madness, and the ginger felt himself start humping the bed like a horny teenager. With a few grunts, Stensland managed to wake himself enough to get his pillow underneath his hips and his shorts down so his cock could have less confines and more friction. 

With a moan, Stensland reached down with one hand and gripped his cock as he continued to rut reflexively. Though his head was swimming, he still managed to keep the thought of Clyde’s crotch grinding up against him, only a small bit of leather between them. He tugged down the foreskin of his cock, smearing precome around the head in between the rutting movements of his hips. 

_“Are you ready for me, Stensy, my little ginger boy?”_

“Yes, oh fuck yes, give it to me. Give me the D, I need it. Please, just give me it,” Stensland moaned, hearing Clyde’s voice in his head. He knew of course that this was all in his imagination, but it didn’t matter. Clyde’s Daddy voice had to be king, and he was just a humble servant.

Stensland arched his hips hard as he felt an imaginary smack on his ass cheek, once, then twice, and by the third time, he was screaming out the dark haired man’s name as he came hard all over his pillow. 

Flopping down onto his messy pillow and bed, Stensland moaned a few times and rutted a bit more before he whispered, “I’m gonna go to hell in a handbasket, but as long as I get a Clyde, I’m so fine. So fine with this.”

\--------------------------------------------------

Clyde lay awake on his bed, wondering which deity he’d managed to piss off now. He was achingly sore, tired, but his restless mind couldn’t keep away from one pretty soft looking ginger. He needed to stop this before it got worse. He was the pack Alpha, and he already had enough on his plate. Clyde didn’t need to feel responsible for someone else. Especially if that someone else might turn out to be a heartbreaker.

But, Clyde couldn’t help himself. Like a fucking magnet tugging him along, he was helpless and unable to resist.

However, Clyde was still gonna make sure to hold out as long as possible. It’d be best if he learned more about Stensland before he fell into a deeper pit than he already was. 

Still, that didn’t mean he couldn’t think about Stensland, or his cute ass in the comfort of his own home. Running his hand down to tweak one of his nipples, Clyde licked his lips and briefly wondered if the rumors were true about Werewolves. Porn wasn’t something he usually watched unless it was for stripper purposes but he’d seen some pretty interesting stuff when he had had the interest to view it. He wasn’t no stranger when it came to all kinds of dirty sexual pleasures. Hell, he’d been labeled Leather or Cotton Daddy at his part time stripper job for a reason.

But, just because he knew all that and had actually been a Daddy to a few high paying patrons, he hadn’t dabbled into the Werewolf sexual community. BDSM was as far as he went. So, with no little bit of curiosity in his mind, Clyde reached down slowly, dragging his fingers down his chest lightly towards his abdomen. When he got to his trail of trimmed hair leading past his navel to his cock, Clyde thought again about Stensland.

That ass was firm and just tight enough for him to squeeze and spank. He wondered briefly if Stensland was in to that sort of thing. Feeling his cock thicken just from that alone, Clyde huffed out a soft sigh. Finally giving in to his rising lust, the Alpha took himself in hand and started stroking slow and steady, imagining Stensland’s long fingers wrapped around his girth. 

With a few tugs, Clyde felt his baser self raise it’s head and he let out a low growling keen, feeling something rigid grow at the base of his dick. Shit, he guessed that rumor was true at least about Alphas. Only Alphas could grow a knot. Betas were more in tune with the human within them, but Alphas were more in tune with the wolf. Omegas were stray wolves. They could be Betas or Alphas, but on their own. 

Clyde let out a roaring cry as he came all over his stomach, chest, and chin not even a moment later. Arching his back so hard it creaked, Clyde had a climax like none he’d ever felt. He continued to rub himself after he noted that the knot wasn’t going down any time soon. Hissing softly and cursing the universe, Clyde let out another cry as he came again in another big load.

Once Clyde calmed down and his knot faded almost thirty minutes later he let out a low rumbling whine. “Jimmy… why did you give this up?” And how the hell was he going to deal with Stensland? He’d break the poor boy.

Or maybe…. He wouldn’t.


	4. Hard Day's Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Finally back in the swing of things with this story amongst others! Hope you all like. Sorry it took me so long to post an update. Been a wild last year, let me tell ya.

Day one of Stensland’s second part time job came up and bit him in the ass on Monday morning. He’d stayed up almost all night going through his plots to seduce Clyde, drinking probably way more than he should have, and after finally bursting into tears in frustration, he had plopped his ass down in front of his old TV to watch another Dawson’s Creek rerun - of which turned into another marathon. At least he hadn’t gotten himself high this time. 

He still had a nasty hangover, and probably smelled worse than an outhouse, so he’d forced himself to shuffle on cold feet into his bathroom to take a piss, shower, and adult. After being freshly groomed, he tugged on a new set of black scrubs, figuring he could at least attempt to look the part of a Vet tech, even if he wasn’t a licensed one. Nor was he going to be doing anything other than cashier work and handling animals - definitely not administering any sort of medication whatsoever or treatment. Clyde had been pretty specific about that when Stensland had gone down to go over his paperwork. 

And Stensland took it all very seriously. There was no way in hell he was going to be the cause of Clyde having his clinic shut down because of stupidity. If things went well, then perhaps Stensland could look into possible online classes in order to get certified. But, for now, Stensland was happy juggling this new position as well as his online Soft Solutions job. Of course, if things went south on his plans to seduce Clyde, then he could always improvise. 

He was also very determined that that particular weekend coming up, he was going to drag himself to Toad Suck Fancy Boots once in for all. Even if Clyde wasn’t actually working that night - heaven forbid he wasn’t! - then he could still gather intel on the place. Stensland hadn’t been to a strip club before, despite there being numerous ones back up in Seattle. So, this would be a new experience for him. Apparently here in West Virginia, though there were still some folk that weren’t too keen on not fully heterosexual folks, a lot of people seemed to turn a blind eye or not mind it so much.

Clyde didn’t seem to have any issue with it when he helped a gay couple with their cat right before he helped Stensland with his papers the other day. And he did catch Clyde giving him not so subtle looks, so that was a good thing. Hopefully, Stensland wouldn’t have to worry about that sort of thing at Toad Suck Fancy Boots. It seemed to be a strip club that catered to all interests, but the ginger couldn’t be too careful. 

After brushing his hair a bit more, Stensland sighed, trying hard not to let the mop of hair fall in front of his eyes. He hated trying to look nice for people. But, he did want to give a good impression on Clyde, though that ship probably already sunken the first moment he met him. Clyde didn’t seem to mind what he wore, but the ginger couldn’t help but want to at least try to look like he cared about himself. Deciding not to go too far out and have his hair slicked back like that one night out with Grady where he felt like some fancy suited ponce, Stensland settled with just grooming it into a simple, but nice style.

Wrinkling his nose at his own reflection, Stensland felt that he looked ok. Leaving the bathroom, he absently put on some thick new black socks and beat up sneakers and headed in the kitchen to grab some toast. If there had been one good thing about having Grady stay with him for a time, is that the older man had given him some cooking tips. So, Stensland at least knew how to make breakfasts, if nothing else. 

He nearly burned his hand getting the toast out of the small toaster oven, his mind distracted on the thought of possibly cooking Clyde breakfast one morning in the future. What was that old wives’ tale? That the way through a man’s heart was through his stomach? Maybe Clyde wouldn’t mind eating a good and hearty breakfast some time. With that thought in mind, Stensland figured he’d probably best purchase a few good cooking magazines or at least look on some southern cooking blogs online just to enhance his skills - just in case.

After polishing off his toast with some good old fashioned sweet tea, Stensland popped a mint in his mouth and headed out the door, feeling much better. He tried not to think about what might happen if Clyde actually was on the straight and narrow and not romantically inclined to men.

### 

Unfortunately, mother nature had different plans for Stensland. He got caught in an early morning rain shower. Luckily there wasn’t any thunder or lightning to go with it, but Stensland wouldn’t have been surprised regardless. As it was, by the time he got to the clinic, he was soaked through and wishing he would have watched the weather forecast the night before to prepare. 

Clyde let him in with a small, worried frown on his lips. “Shit, I forgot all about them spring storms a’comin’. You want me to start pickin’ you up and bringing you here for your shifts if it looks ta bein’ nasty out there?” Clyde rumbled softly as he retrieved a couple of big, fluffy towels from a cabinet to the side of the reception area. 

They might be a bit linty due to Clyde’s dryer back in his trailer being on its last legs, but at least they’d dry Stensland off enough to function and not catch a cold. That’d be just all he needed - getting the cute ginger all sick and helpless right after his first day at work. Not on his watch. No siree. 

Stensland took up the offered towels with a mumbled thanks and said it was fine him walking, but when he tried to dry off his new scrubs it seemed like it was a useless venture. Clyde watched him for a moment before he offered, “I have a top you can use while yours dries. It'll be a bit big I'm thinkin’, but it'll be warm.” 

_Clyde, what in hell's manure pile are you done thinkin’ spouting off that?_ Clyde berated himself silently, but when Stensland smiled all bright and sunshiny like, he figured he'd best not take the offer back. Besides, his ma would turn over in her grave if he let someone die from _HYPO_ -thermia because he was being a pigheaded asshole.

Still, how in the world was he goin’ to keep his _hands_ off of Stensland with one of his own shirts on him? 

The fact that it had been washed and didn't have much of his scent on it didn't matter. Nor did it matter that Stensland was a human who knew no hide or hair about Werewolves if his suspicions were in fact, correct. What mattered was that Clyde _KNEW_ that he was essentially offering to mildly mark Stensland with his scent. Swallowing carefully when the purty oblivious ginger nodded in assent, Clyde knew he was in too deep and just managed to nail his own coffin shut.

Huffing out a soft sigh in resignation that Karma surely did love kicking him in the balls, Clyde gestured for Stensland to follow him to the back rooms behind the kennel. There was his small office which had another door leading to the behind area of the bar storage areas, and there was another room on the other side of the hallway where most of his surgeries and heavier procedures took place. Clyde opened up a cabinet while Stensland waited patiently behind him, and he muffled a low whine when he felt eyes on his ass as he stretched up to get his spare scrubs.

Was Stensland eye’in his fill on his _ass_? Taking perhaps an ill fated cue, Clyde breathed in deeply and felt his eyes flicker red. Did Stensland even know what he was doing to him? The Alpha caught a huge whiff of arousal coming off of Stensland in waves - moreso than usual. Apparently, the man liked his ass.

Liked it a _lot_.

Forcing himself to be all normal like - or as normal as he could be in this sort of situation, Clyde turned to Stensland and caught him in the act. Before he could even think about putting a huge muzzle on his mouth, words were flyin’ out like some gutter spillin’ _avalanche_ , “Like what you see, darlin’?”

Flushing scarlet, Stensland coughed and reached out to take the scrubs from Clyde and chewed on his lower lip. “Would it be bad if I said yes?”

“Depends on what you want to do abou’ it,” Clyde stated softly, a sudden grin flowing over his face, noting that though this situation might be a bit awkward, especially since Stensland was one of his workers - and he still had reservations about him, he still couldn’t help but feel relieved that the man didn’t seem too upset at his forwardness.

Stensland swallowed heavily and tried to think of something to say that wouldn’t kill the mood. For a long minute they just looked at eachother, and Stensland could practically hear his blood rushing through his head, down his body to settle into his groin. A bark from one of the kennels nearby startled the both of them out of their staring contest and he said hoarsely, “So, you aren’t opposed to it?”

“If I was, I’d not be so forward. I don’t mind it, as long as it’s outside of working hours. We have rules for a reason,” Clyde gently admonished, causing Stensland to nod and swallow a bit more in understanding. “Now get on with you and get your shirt changed before I change my mind and ravish you back here up against ta wall.” 

Stensland arched a brow and suddenly saw a challenge. He smirked and waggled his eyebrows and moved in for the kill before he even thought about it. The ginger moved up into Clyde’s personal space and breathed out softly. “Now, that is something I wouldn’t be opposed to, if you did change your mind.”

Clyde felt his eyes flicker red, but he blinked and forced his inner Alpha down with a fierce shove. Now was not the time to get handsy as much as he would like or perhaps as much as Stensland would like. Luckily, the ginger seemed to not have noticed his baser self coming to the surface. Clyde leaned in to give Stensland a brief nuzzle at the neck, then promptly turned the ginger around by the waist and slapped his ass away from him. “ _ **GIT!**_ You devil’s child.”

Stensland let out a soft embarrassingly high squeak before he laughed and let up on the play. Perhaps today wasn’t so bad afterall?

### 

Scratch that.

Today was not so good but not so bad either. It wasn’t work - he’d actually enjoyed his first day at the clinic.

Working with Clyde wasn’t bad at all. Since it was a Monday, it wasn’t that busy, and most of his training with Mellie and Clyde went well. He even got to start working on the till for a bit, helping customers. Restocking pet supplies was a bit fun, though he would probably never, ever get muscles like Clyde - nor would he even want to. After that one incident in the back, Stensland made sure to keep things professional and so did Clyde, though the tension between the two must have been extremely noticeable to their clients and Mellie, who would wrinkle her nose whenever she caught the two staring at eachother like star eyed calves. 

Mellie was nice to Stensland, and he could tell that though she was one very beautiful girl, she definitely knew how to take care of herself. In a way, her boldness and self assured nature reminded him of Morgan, but that was as far as it went. Clyde’s baby sister was definitely not Morgan in any sense of the imagination. Stensland couldn’t put his finger on all of the differences, but he sure was glad that he knew where he stood with Mellie.

Mellie was very happy in her relationship with Joe Bang, and she had no qualms telling anyone to back off if they got too crude around her. Even at the clinic, some guys wanted to try and hit on her but they were always sent outside with a tongue lashing ringing in their ears that made Stensland not ever want to piss Clyde’s baby sister off. 

That part of today had been great. Of course he’d been nervous after that whole incident in the back room, but once he’d settled down and focused on work, things went rather well. Plus, the fact that it HAD happened was also something Stensland was both embarrassed and proud of. Apparently, he now had a pretty good idea that Clyde had no qualms with being attracted to men. And the fact that he seemed amiable to flirting and messing around with Stensland really had the ginger want to touch what he knew he couldn’t have just yet.

So, yea, work really wasn’t the horrible part about today. Not one bit.

What really sucked, however, was afterwards. Mellie had to leave early to go work at the salon, and Clyde decided to close up by himself, so that left Stensland heading home at around two pm. Of course, he should have been thrilled that he managed to get through work without making a total idiot out of himself, but in a sense, he felt lonely after leaving. It was a nasty feeling, and Stensland knew that turning right back around to go see Clyde was a bad idea. He didn’t want to seem too clingy. And hell, it’s not like the two of them were really dating. At all.

So, Stensland headed home, feeling much like a dog with its tail between his legs.

He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he nearly tripped over something large, dirty, and hairy. Stensland blinked slowly at the huge looking creature in front of him and he swallowed dryly. Large, bloodied teeth, crazy glowing green eyes, brown and black scruff, the creature looked like one huge injured wolf. 

Before the flight or fight instinct kicked in, the creature whined and tried to roll over a bit, but was unable to because of a nasty wound in its side. “Fuck me sideways,” Stensland whimpered out. He didn’t know what made him not run that evening. 

In the future he often wondered why, but in this moment, a moment that changed everything, Stensland stayed, knelt near the wounded creature and looked it over.

### 

Clyde was just locking up the clinic when he smelled and sensed something. Raw pain. Anger. Injury. And blood. Lots of blood. _He knew that scent_. His eyes flashed red and he fought to keep his Alpha instincts in. Casually looking around him to make sure no one was around, Clyde took up his cell phone and called Sylvia. When she didn’t pick up, he bit his lower lip and forced himself to keep calm. He then texted the pack to put them all out on alert. 

There was a hunter in town.

Either that or someone accidentally maimed Jimmy.

Taking off towards the woods, he let out a howl that was both chilling and haunting. It wasn’t long before others joined in, signalling that the Bang brothers - or at least the wolf kind were nearby. Clyde was about to transform when he caught another scent nearby, almost intermingled with Jimmy’s blood. 

Stensland.

That complicated things, now didn’ it?

Once bursting through the trees, the sight he came in both dumbfounded, worried, and amused him. Stensland had taken off his outer borrowed scrub tunic and was dabbing a wound at Jimmy’s side. Fuck. Of all the ways to let the fucking cat - or in this case wolf - out of the bag, it had to be this way, he supposed. He rushed over and nearly startled Stensland, who let out a small squeak. 

“Oh thank God, you are here. Bless you. I just stumbled over him and he’s been shot or stabbed, I think. I tried texting you but the signal out here is dismal -” Stensland blabbed, not being able to help himself as Clyde knelt down near the wolf.

Suddenly three wolves burst in on the scene and let out growls and whines. Two smaller ones took a couple of sniffs in Stensland’s direction and let out deeper growls while the bigger one huffed and came towards the fallen wolf. The injured wolf whined a bit but up and licked Clyde’s hand. 

“I didn’t realize big grey wolves lived in these parts. Nor did I think they got this big,” Stensland murmured.

“They don’t,” Clyde offered absently, studying the nasty gash that Stensland had tried to staunch the bleeding from. Carefully peeling back the makeshift shirt/bandage, he winced as Jimmy whined a bit more. “It’s ok Jimmy. We’ll get this all sorted, you’d best believe that.”

“His name is Jimmy?” Stensland murmured, arching a brow and studying Clyde a bit more. 

Clyde looked… well he looked pissed. And not just that, but he looked honestly anguished. There was something Stensland was missing here, and for the life of him he couldn’t grasp it. 

“Bro, he’s Clyde’s big brother and our former Alpha!” Suddenly came a familiar voice. Stensland looked up and nearly shrieked like a girl.

Fish was half wolf, half human and then he was suddenly full human. At least he wasn’t naked. And why in the hell was he thinking about Fish being naked? Stensland blinked a few times and looked over at the other two wolves. “Sam?” The smaller tawny and reddish wolf huffed and transformed into a human, reaching over to smack Fish upside the head.

“Ow, what was tat for?” Fish grumbled, scowling at Sam.

“Because he wasn’t in’te know, you dumbass!” Sam hollered before he rolled his eyes and added, “If he were a hunter then we’d be screwed into orbit and then some.”

“He ain’t no hunter,” Clyde rumbled.

“Hunter? What?” Stensland asked, looking a bit panicked when suddenly the other wolf - this one paler than the others, turned into one Joe Bang.

“How can you be sure, Alpha?” Joe asked, coming over to kneel down next to Jimmy. He regarded the fallen wolf with a mixture of pity and a mix of sympathy. Jimmy looked hurt bad.

“I don’t smell silver or weapons on him. Plus, this looks a few hours old. Stensland has been at the clinic most of t'day.” He gestured to the wound he was tending. 

Joe nodded slowly and looked over at Fish and Sam, “Make a perimeter. Don’ let no one pass unless it’s a wolf we know.”

“Okie dokie,” Fish said and turned back into a wolf, followed by Sam. Once the two had bolted for the surrounding trees, Joe turned his attention back to Jimmy, Clyde, and Stensland.

Finally digging a bit more caused Jimmy to let out a yelp, but it was over in a few seconds. Clyde produced a bloody silver bullet with his mechanical hand.

“Damn,” Joe murmured, not liking the looks of that. It’d been a long time since a hunter had been on the loose in these parts. It was a shame that one was in the vicinity now. 

“Looks like we got ourselves a professional,” Clyde said softly, handing the small bullet to Stensland. “Keep that for now until we can get Jimmy back to the clinic to be properly patched up.”

“Ok.” Stensland swallowed and looked down at the bullet in his hands.

What in tarnation had he gotten himself into?

\-----------------------------------------------

It wasn’t until some more members of the pack had come by to help get Jimmy back to the clinic that the shock had finally left Stensland. 

Then the questions came a mile a minute, and Clyde didn’t know whether to blame everything on his family’s curse or just give up and spill his guts to Stensland. All of it. All of their secrets.

At least Jimmy was going to be ok once they got some salve on that wound and he checked him over for other issues. They’d best hurry for though silver slowed down the healing process in a wolf, it wouldn’t take that long for it to finally leave Jimmy. They needed to get him patched up before he became one with his human side again so he could explain what happened and where Sylvia was.

The fact that Sylvia was missing didn’t help things either. Trying to keep himself busy so he didn’t become overwhelmed with worry, Clyde decided that perhaps Stensland, being a Bang brother by default should give him a bit of a leeway in knowing things he probably shouldn’t. So, he went ahead and started answering questions. 

“So you are an Alpha -what?” Stensland asked yet again.

“Alpha Werewolf.”

“Bullshit. Bull - _SHIT_.” Stensland blinked up at the man in front of him. “You are serious.”

“Serious as a heart attack, honey,” Clyde drawled, reaching down to help the soft and squishy human up. 

“Then how did your arm - I guess some things don’t heal, do they?” Stensland must be in shock. No he wasn’t. But he MUST be.

That must be it. Otherwise he had been for the last few weeks aiming to hit on an Alpha Werewolf Bartender, who was also a daytime Animal Clinic owner/technician, AND was ALSO a legit part time _STRIPPER_ at Toad Suck Fancy Boots. 

This was just too much. And yet, after seeing Clyde nod, Stensland couldn’t help but demand, “Tell me _MORE_.”


End file.
